St. Paul daily globe., 1887-03-23
a BOYS AWFUL CRIME.
HE COnfesses TO Having Killed His
Mother, sister aud Brother.

n
Mother, sister aud Brother
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, March 22.-lt will bs
recOllected that year ago this month one of
the bloodiest murders or rather butcberies
of human beings known to the annals or
crime was committed near the town of
Erie, Kan. J. w. Sell, well-to-do
farmer, and his whole family, excepting one
son, Willie, boy 16 Years old. were
found murdered, their bodies being crushed
and their throats cut from ear to ear On
chair in the room was found
hatchet and butcher knife belonging 20
the family with which the bloody work had
been done, and the boy Willie was found To
be covered with blood from head to foot.
He was accordingly arrested, charged with
the crime. and at the July term of the dis
trict court in 1886. was tried, convicted of
murder in the first degree and sentenced to
be hung, and in conformity to the laws of
that state is now in the penitentiary await
ing the signature of the governor To the
death warrant. There has always been a
great diversity OF opinion among the people
as to whether Willie Sell committed the
murder. On the trial there was no positive
evidence, and the state utterly failed to find
any motive for the crime. On the contrary il
was proven that Willie was an exception
ally good boy. and that he and his sister
Ina were more than commonly fond OF
each other. The neighbors all swore to the
boys good disposition, and that he was q
fayorlte III the community, while his
brother Watty, who was older than he. was
not so generally liked. The matter now.
however, seems to be set at rest. for q
statement is printed this morning in dis
patches from Erie that the boy, after svs-
tematic urging ard pressing on the part of
Hon. j. Il. Woods, his guardian, and his
attorney. had made confession. which fits
so exactly to the facts and circumstances
brought out at the trial. that it settles the
case definitely. The confession is in SUBJ
stance as follows:
THE BOYS CONFESSION
Mother and Sister Ina mad gone to bed.
Father Watty and l were still up when the
calves got out and came up around the house.
Watty sat at the table reading and father had
just taken his coat and pants of to go TO bed
and told Watty TO go and put the calves up
He said, Let Willie do it; wont go out now
Father said that he should go and Watty did
| not want to, and while they were talking
went out and got the hatchet which was
| sticking in a log outside the door and came
back to see if Watty would go out with me.
l got the hatchet to nail up the Gals pen.
Father and Watty were there quarreling ana
had become very mad. When I came
4
Watty snatched it out of my hand
and struck father several times, at last
knocking him down. When l saw what Wattv
had done caught hold of the hatchet and
jerked it out of his hands, and, striking a.
Watty, hit him on the head and he fell down
on the floor, and suppose that killed him.
| Then mother, seeing what was being done,
| jumped out of bed screaming, and before 1
| thought what Twas doing struck her. Ina
my sister, at that raised up in bed and
| screamed, and don't know why did it. but
| [ struck her with the hatcbet and she fell
back. They were all lying quiet. l took OFF
| all my clothes except my shirt and
drawers. then pulled off Wattys pants,
raised him up and carried him into tho
| other room and put him onto our
| bed. After that ] went back and got
| the Ratchet and pounded his head all 10
| pieces. felt mad at Watty because he had
| killed father. l went to the cupboard and
| got the butcher knife and cut Wattys head
nearly of. Then l went back into the other
! room and sat down, and did not know what
| to do. Then l thought that if any of them
| should come to life they would say 1 killed
| Watty. So took the butcher knife and cut
| their throats to make sure work of it. l then
| blew out the lamp and sat down for several
hours, but at last could not stand it any
| longer, and again lit the lamp, and putting on
my clothes ran over to Mr.. Mendall's and told
| him that some one was at our house with Il
| hatchet and had hurt pa and ma.